Transcoding optical media in Linux

Obstacle Course

Conclusions

HandBrake and MakeMKV are two full-fledged applications for Linux that support Blu-ray disc and video DVD transcoding for commercial media – if legal at your location. HandBrake is ahead in terms of functionality, whereas MakeMKV offers an easier to use interface (Table 1).

Table 1

Comparison of Transcoders

Feature	HandBrake	MakeMKV
License	GPL	Freeware
Container format	Matroska, MP4	Matroska
Media	DVD, Blue-ray	DVD, Blue-ray
Presets	Yes	Yes
Device-specific presets	Yes	No
Video codecs	Theora, VP8/9, H.264/265, MPEG-2/4	Depends on source
Audio codecs	Vorbis, AC3, MP3, AAC, MPEG-4	Depends on source
Select audio tracks	Yes	Yes
Select subtitle tracks	Yes	Yes
Command-line variant	Yes	No
Hardware Support
Nvidia CUDA support	No	No
AMD app support	No	No
Nvidia Nvenc support	Yes	No

MakeMKV impresses with low system load and is therefore suitable for use with older hardware. On the downside, it only supports Matroska as the target container format. HandBrake lets you choose between many container formats and uses a variety of codecs. The software also offers numerous presets for special hardware, such as gaming consoles, which makes it easier to get started with the software and does not require extensive preparatory work on the part of the user. Finally, the output quality in both applications is excellent.

Infos